Monday, January 19, 2015

"University of Colorado senior Mark Mariscal was honored here Thursday
night as he was named the winner of the Ray Guy Award, presented to the
nation's top punter during the Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards
Show. 'I was so excited. I didn't think I was going to win until they called
my name,' Mariscal said from Orlando. 'I thought I had a pretty good
chance, but I had my brother in my ear, talking trash, telling me I
wasn't going to win it. He was kidding me and it kept me loose. You see
the talented players you're up against and you realize it could go to
anyone.' The other finalists for the award were Tennessee's Dustin
Colquitt and Kentucky's Glenn Pakulak.

He's enjoyed quite a senior year, leading the nation in punting with a
48.2 gross average as well as with a 43.0 net average. He led the NCAA
since the second week of the season (Sept. 7), and averaged over 50
yards per kick well into October. In 13 regular season games, he had 61 punts overall, with 16
inside-the-20 (nine inside-the-10), with a school record 29 for 50-plus
yards, with 10 of those carrying 60 or more yards. He averaged 51.5
yards per punt on CU's side of the 50, and on kicks inside the Buff 25,
he averaged a gaudy 52.6 yards per punt. Only 10 punts went for
touchbacks, and some of those were by design to eliminate any chance of a
return.... Mariscal earned first-team All-America honors from the AFCA, Walter Camp
and The Sporting News, and was the unanimous All-Big 12 punter
(Associated Press and Big 12 Coaches, as well as by several regional
newspapers). He set CU records for career gross (46.8) and net (41.9)
average, as his season average of 48.21 bested a 52-year old school
record for a single year, as he edged out Zack Jordan's 48.16 back in
1950. He was CU's special teams player of the week on six occasions, and
was twice recognized for the same by the Big 12 (for the Texas Tech and
Nebraska games)....

'When I first got here (CU), I didn't know what it really took,' he
reminisced. 'I thought kickers could have it easy. But I soon realized
that you had to focus, to pick up your work ethic. I really worked hard
the last couple of years, especially at being more consistent.' Mariscal was also thrilled to meet Guy, who helped present the award in
his name. 'He's a really cool guy, real mellow, a great guy to get to
know,' Mariscal said. 'It meant a lot to meet him and to get time to
visit with him.... I really have to credit Randy Brown, my punting coach, who I've stayed
in touch with,' he added. 'But I also need to thank my coaches at CU,
guys like Marcus Moore and J.J. Billingsley for racing down there and
making tackles, and guys like Kory Mossoni for not getting kicks
blocked. It's really a team thing, and a lot of guys can share in this
honor'." - Big 12